I’ve spent the last week in Taipei checking out the latest gaming laptops during Computex,
and these are the best new models coming out in 2023!
I think MSI’s new Alpha 17 was one of the most interesting laptops introduced at the show,
because it’s one of the few to make use of AMD’s new 16 core 32 thread 7945HX Zen 4
processor. The chassis is basically a metal GP77, which is a nice midrange option and
a welcome upgrade compared to MSI’s older Alpha series. Yeah it would have been cool
to see an AMD CPU in something like a Titan GT77 with maxed out hardware, but still,
MSI have only used AMD CPUs at the budget end of the lineup, so this is an interesting change.
Next up, Acer released their new Triton 16 about a week ago. The Triton series
is a thinner design compared to the Helios options with a cleaner look,
and they’ve also got the larger Triton 17X if you prefer a bigger screen. The color scheme of the
17X is closer to the Predator Helios series, but it’s still a thinner design. I was told
to push down hard on the metal wrist rest area, and it felt extremely solid with no flex at all.
Acer’s Helios 16 and Helios Neo 16 were also on show. The Neo version is a little bigger in all
dimensions, heavier, and its specs don’t go quite as high, so it’s meant to be a cheaper, more entry
level Helios option. I thought that’s what the Nitro series was for, but they didn’t have those
at the show. But there may have been a hint about an updated Nitro coming later this year.
We’re actually about half way through reviewing the Helios Neo 16 back at home,
so make sure you’re subscribed for that!
Acer also had their 15 inch Helios with the 3D Spatial Labs screen on display. Now this
is basically impossible to capture on camera properly, but it actually looks awesome in
person. The cameras track your eyes and make supported games look 3D, I would definitely
prefer playing games with this effect! It just gives them a whole new level of extra depth.
Next up, Gigabyte are introducing their new Aorus 16,
which I’m told is basically an Aorus 15, but with a taller 16:10 screen,
so less bottom chin and more viewable screen space, as you can see here.
There are definitely other changes though. The port layout, size and
overall design is all clearly different too - I mean the 16 has an RGB bar on the lid,
so I’m not sure how much is actually coming over from the 15 inch version. The Aorus 16 will also
come with a new GaN charger, which is apparently 40% smaller than other 280 watt chargers.
As for ASUS, they of course had their ROG Ally on show with their newest XG Mobile attached,
which has Nvidia’s RTX 4090 laptop GPU inside, so a cool, but super expensive way of significantly
boosting performance on the Ally. The new 4090 XG Mobile of course also works with the new Flow X16,
X13, and Z13 devices, and is also backwards compatible with older models too.
I also got to see this year’s new Zephyrus G16 for the first time too,
which is basically last year’s M16 chassis but with newer CPU and GPU, along with the
new G14 which squeezes in an RTX 4090 mobile GPU. Granted it’s limited to 100 watts or so,
but based on my testing, that should still beat a full powered 3080 Ti from last gen,
which would also be in a much bigger machine. We’re still waiting on ASUS to send all these over
for review, but otherwise they didn’t have any new gaming laptops to announce during this event.
XMG also gave us a preview of what’s coming next year in 2024,
but unfortunately I can’t talk about any of that just yet! As for this year,
they’ve just launched their new Apex series with Ryzen CPUs - Zen 3+ at the moment, with
Zen 4 options coming later this year. An AMD based Core 16 comes after that, which is like the higher
tier Neo 16 with a Cherry MX keyboard option, but without water cooling and maxes out with RTX 4070.
Apart from MSI adding their higher tier Ryzen option, which is a welcome change,
there’s nothing too ground breaking here, as no new CPUs or GPUs were announced.
And unfortunately brands like Lenovo, HP, and Dell/Alienware didn’t have any presence
at Computex this year, but HP are sending us their new Omen Transcend gaming laptop when we
get back to Australia in a few days. And we’ve already got Lenovo’s new Legion Slim 7 Gen 8,
and more budget friendly LOQ 15 and LOQ 16 options waiting for us to review.
So definitely get subscribed if you’re new to the channel,
and check this one out next if you want more details on new 2023 gaming laptops. Most of the
new models coming out this year were already announced at CES, so check that one out now!